Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Episode 10- A Fever in the Blood
by Steel Kiba
Summary: People all over the Amalei Region begin to fall severely ill to the point of many falling comatose. But this is only temporary as the sick rise and begin to attack everyone around them. Misty notices an unmistakable pattern and leads the charge to stop the winged culprit known as Dredwing. Glitchy chapters now fixed.
1. Predawn Near-Death

**Author Note: Dredwing is actually a discarded draft of a name for Goldar during the original show's creation, but it fits so perfectly with the monster here I couldn't pass it up. Big thanks to the original creators of all of these shows!**

Eons ago, the evil sorceress Rita Repulsa ruled everything with a poison grip, enslaving humanity and destroying countless wondrous creatures, all in the name of a lust for control and a hidden power. The good wizard Zordon was able to seal her away for ten thousand years at the cost of his freedom, but she has returned to wreak havoc on Earth again. Now, Zordon has chosen a team of noble, world-traveled teenagers to harness the power of the dinosaurs to stop her and bring peace to the world. They are the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers!

 **VOICE CAST**

Brennan Mejia as Ash Ketchum/Red Ranger

Rachel Lillis as Misty Williams/Yellow Ranger

Lucien Dodge as Tracey "Sketchit" Matthews/Blue Ranger

Erin Cahill as Lia Feran/Pink Ranger

Johnny Yong Bosch as Brock Harrison/Black Ranger

Josh Grelle as Hayashi Feran/Green Ranger

David Fielding as Zordon

Richard Horovitz as Alpha 5

Barbara Goodson as Rita Repulsa

Kerrigan Mahan as Goldar

Special Guest Voice: Kyle Hebert as Dredwing

 _A Fever in the Blood_

"There's two more here! We need stretchers now!"

Two bleary-eyed men burst through the glass double doors of Riko General Clinic, wheeling two stretchers in front of them. The medics skidded to a halt when they saw the sight on the concrete below. Doctor April Collings, who was leaving for home after the night shift, happened upon two nearly lifeless bodies laying in front of the clinic.

"Stabilize the neck. Keep her steady," Collings, twenty-nine and just a year into residency, said as she helped one of the men load one an unconscious woman on one of the portable beds.

"Did you see anyone else around, doctor?" the other man asked. He picked up the other victim, a little boy of no more than ten or so, and set him on the stretcher. As he strapped him in, the medic saw his hands and sleeves darken with blood from the child's arm.

Collings shook her head, and both men looked at each other with raised eyebrows as they wheeled the two injured people inside, away from the ink-black cover of the predawn sky and the chilly November air. As they moved, the doctor ran her light brown finger over the woman's sternum and to the left side of her neck; her blue sweat jacket and flower-print sleep shirt were torn and blood was splotched on her milk-white skin, which ran from two holes and a long tear on her neck that ran between the two marks.

"She shouldn't be alive, but she has a pulse," the medic nearest Collings remarked. "At least the boy's wound doesn't look so bad, but his arm is torn up."

The doctor walked over and looked at the boy, presumably the woman's son, and her insides tensed up even more than when she saw the adult female's condition. The same marks could barely be seen under the blood on his arm.

 _"This is spreading…"_ Collings thought. _"First Feron Grove, now here?"_

"So cold. And so welcome."

Miles away from the Riko clinic, a lone figure stood atop the green hill that arched over the Life's End cavern. His long, faintly lavender arms were crossed, and the figure licked his lips, savoring the coppery taste from his last meal. He ran his pointed tongue across two of his top teeth, and then over the point of a large one jutting from his bottom gum. It seemed that with each night and each new victim, the human flavor became sweeter and sweeter.

The being stood atop the hill facing the east. The late fall air was devoid of any wind; cold just hung in the air, and the tall one stretched out his arms, breathing deeply. Then…

 _Warmth. Just a twinge now._

A flash of what he suspected was the color yellow popped into his mind. The being still stood where he was, but now, three more crept from the cave—humans all in ragged clothing and with pale skin.

"Master Dredwing," one of them rasped, cowering behind the entrance to Life's End with the others. "The sun is coming up!"

Indeed, the first few needles of daylight were rising to the sky above the Amalei Region. Dredwing smiled and flapped two large, feathery, black wings, gliding down to the cavern. He then turned once more to the sun, and then headed inside the cave, the warmth fading from his body.

"Not yet, sun," Dredwing said in a calm, almost soothing voice. "Not yet."


	2. Union Four

_Pop pop pop-pop!_

Misty slid from the left to the right, darting her red-gloved hands into the black heavy bag that stood on the green, interlocking puzzle mat. She ducked, keeping her guard up, and then she slammed her left knee right into the center of the target, following up with the right.

 _POP!_

Lia was keeping the heavy bag from rocking to the floor of the Feron Grove Union, locking herself in a long left front stance. Her eyes followed Misty's every move as she backed away and snapped a few round kicks into the sides of the bag. Finally, the redheaded girl pushed off of the mat and dove a reverse forearm into an elbow into the bag, surprising Lia and making her back off of the bag, and just in time as Misty leapt into the air and threw a spinning heel kick above her target.

The younger Feran sibling smiled and walked up to her friend, who removed the band from her messy ponytail and tossed her hair forward, dotting her yellow tank top with even more sweat.

"You're hitting harder and harder, girl," Lia said. "I love it."

Misty took a few breaths and laughed. "Thanks, Lia. Between seeing you out there and going through everything in the last month, I've had a whole new reason to."

Lia shrugged, and the two walked away from that section of the workout area and upward to a section of people sitting at blue tables. They passed by Darren at the counter, who waved slightly as he was stuck in a conversation with Police Chief Kanzaki, who stood there and absentmindedly twirled the keys on her belt. The two girls looked at each other.

"Seriously, you've been getting a lot better with your power and movement," Lia continued, removing her white workout jacket and slinging it over her shoulder. "You just get in there and "bam!," and then out again. It's like you've been doing that for years." She then pointed to Ash and Hayashi, who were sitting by themselves. "You could show them a thing or two."

A rising and falling twang of strings began to fill their ears, and Misty closed her eyes and said, "Sort of. But those two are doing fine. I mean, your brother's teaching Ash, so…"

"Right…hey, take the compliment," Lia answered, narrowing her eyes and nudging Misty.

"The what now?"

The noise from the strings stopped, and Hayashi looked up; a brown acoustic guitar was cradled in his arms.

"I'm sure you heard us over your guitar, Hayashi," Lia jabbed. "Misty was beating that bag like it was Rita."

"What's the difference?" the older Feran sibling asked. He continued to strum the instrument's strings.

Ash hummed low and loudly. He removed his backwards baseball cap and buried his face in it, taking his eyes off of his trigonometry textbook.

"We can't even get close to Rita…" he groaned.

"And there goes the sense of humor," Misty said. She took a seat next to Ash and looked over at the book pages, both of them nearly void of white space thanks to the notes he'd made. She saw the cursory four quadrants drawn on the homework Ash was working on and kept going. "Right into All Star Training Camp."

"Ugh…"

Hayashi craned his neck over to Ash's space and chuckled. "What have I told ya, man? You gotta loosen up at times like these." He then pointed to one of his math problems and said, "That's cosine, by the way."

"Thanks, Hayashi…" Ash droned, irritation filling his voice. "I was just about to change it. You don't have to get involved."

Hayashi sat back and raised an eyebrow. "I've been there before, Ash," he reminded him. "Take the help you can get."

Ash grimaced and looked in Hayashi's direction, who kept his eyebrow raised and plucked a few strings, the notes trailing off out of tune. Lia brought a hand to her face, and Misty moved her attention to Darren and Sherry Kanzaki. The chief wrote something on a piece of paper and slid it over to the Union's manager, and she said goodbye, turning over to walk over to the four teens.

"Hey there, kids," she greeted. "How's it going?"

Misty nodded her head toward her friends and replied, "All different directions. How about you, chief?"

Kanzaki adjusted the belt on her navy blue uniform and tightened her jet black ponytail. "Downward and in a big haze." She then motioned to the four to bring themselves closer, and kept her voice low when everyone was paying attention to her.

"What's up?" Ash inquired, leaning over the table with Hayashi.

"Riko's police chief called me up with some more news today," Kanzaki explained. "Some family brought in another man who was all bitten up this morning. His wife said he was getting a head start at their farm, but when she and the kids came out to join him, he was sprawled out nearly dead in the field."

"No way…" Ash breathed. "That makes three in that town now, right?"

Kanzaki nodded. "And now twenty total counting here and in Kau Cove."

"And nobody's seen anything other than the people after they've been attacked?" Hayashi asked.

"Doctors can't even tell what's doing this," the chief continued. "The bite pattern doesn't match any known Pokémon or animal in the Amalei Region." She took a quick look behind her and questioned, "Have you found anything out yet? This all feels like Rita's handiwork."

Lia shook her head. "We've checked. We've found no abnormal life readings around here. We're on the lookout, though."

Kanzaki frowned and sighed. "The witch is getting good. Well, you know where to reach me if something comes up. Stay safe." She then put her arm around Misty and said, "And I'll see _you_ tomorrow."

Misty smiled and waved goodbye along with her friends. As Kanzaki left the Union, Misty said, "Whatever this creature is, it seems to be keeping the victims alive for some reason."

Ash tightened his fists and gritted his teeth while Hayashi put his hand on his shoulder, pulling it away after seeing the gesture would be of no use. Lia paid no attention to this.

"Think Brock and Tracey will find something?" she posed to Misty.

Misty ducked her head and frowned. "I'm not sure if they'd want to."


	3. In for a Bite

Once again, Brock and Tracey found themselves in the white halls of Feron Grove Hospital. Fluorescent lights, spotless lab coats, and smooth walls were all the same, almost-blinding hue.

Brock, usually one to notice every pretty lady in the room, barely paid attention to the attendant who cast a shadow over his cell phone's screen.

"Sorry to keep you boys waiting," she said. The eldest of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers drew his phone closer to his chest and looked up without moving his head; the woman had short, blue-dyed hair and a small stud dotting her left nostril, and was nearly as tall as the top of Brock's bushy hair. "Nurse Oliver will be with you in a minute."

"Thanks," Brock replied, smiling and nodding. The attendant went back to her desk in the center of the waiting room, and Brock put his phone back in the right pocket of his black jeans and walked closer to Tracey, who was sitting in a chair, head tilted back and a brown bag in his hands.

"Misty said that another person's been hospitalized in Riko," he reported. "Chief Kanzaki talked to Riko's police force, but they have nothing."

Tracey got up from his seat and shuddered just a tad, the late-autumn chill and the cursory cold of a medical office even cutting through his dark blue knit sweater. He turned to look down one of the corridors and said, "Seems like standard procedure at this point. But there's something there. Hopefully, this is the right place to look."

Just then, Oliver Matthews, Tracey's father, rounded the corner and bumped into the boy.

"Oh, geez…sorry, son," he breathed. He clapped Tracey's shoulder and shook Brock's hand. "How're you fellas doing?"

"Just fine, Mr. Matthews," Brock answered. "Looks like you're in a rush."

Oliver brushed his hands off on his greenish scrubs and sighed. "Yeah, it's been quite a week. Lots of people in for the flu and now these folks with those weird bites… I don't get it."

Tracey half-nodded in agreement and handed his father the brown bag. "Speaking of bites, you forgot your lunch at home."

Oliver eyed Tracey, and then raised his eyebrow. "Okay, what's up? You didn't come down here just to give me this."

"Well, we wanted to know if anyone's found anything out about these bite victims," Tracey admitted, brushing some of his bangs behind his left ear. "They're coming from all over the region, and we want to know what to look out for."

Oliver waved his hand to the side, and the two young men followed him down the hall, budging their way past a few doctors and another nurse pushing a gurney. "Tracey, what is it with you and this case? I've told you time and again that you don't want to see anything here."

"Maybe there's something everyone is missing, Dad," Tracey countered, picking up the pace as his father briskly took off down another hallway to the right. "They describe the bites, but they don't describe anything else?"

"I have to agree," Brock interjected. "Has anyone woken up to tell you anything?"

Oliver growled and cricked his neck, casting a glare at the boys as they finally came to a room; six patients, three being observed by physicians, were laying down inside.

"Not one has done much more but stir and pass out," the nurse said. His tone grew even more harsh after he finished that low sentence. "You don't want to be here, boys! You need to…"

"Dad, come on…"

"Enough!" Oliver snapped. "Leave _now!_ "

Tracey and Brock gasped, stepping back. Oliver stood silently for a few seconds, two of the doctors taking a look at the scene, then quickly looking back at their patients. Oliver's glare softened, his eyes fluttering with fatigue and his mouth gaping as if he saw a ghost.

"Please…" he whispered.

Tracey nodded and closed his eyes, and Brock put his big arm around his friend. The two tentatively stepped away from the doorway, and Oliver went to meet his colleagues.

The two friends slumped against the wall outside the room. Brock shook his head and said, "I'm sorry about all that, Trace. We probably should've just not come here right now. Did you see the way he looked at us?"

"Strange," Tracey responded. "He looked way more scared than I've ever seen him. Imagine if he knew how many times we've almost ended up here."

Brock chuckled lightly, then stopped when he heard one of the doctors speaking.

"Here's the information from Doctor Collings in Riko, Ollie. You're not gonna believe this."

"See? I told you I wasn't crazy. What about in Kau Cove?"

"I already got that, you two. Doc Jumah reported the same thing. They're thrashing about and all that."

Tracey and Brock, initially keeping low to the ground, gradually stood up and kept listening. During this moment, they finally noticed a strange smell in the air, pungent and rusty. Words were replaced by two screams, one male and one female. A babble of talk bubbled up as footsteps joined the cacophony. The young duo peeked around the corner to see the trouble. Two nurses and a doctor were trying to hold down a small boy who was moaning. He kicked at the medical staff and tried to hide his head under his blanket; his bed was directly in the path of a sunbeam. On the left side of the room, Oliver and two other doctors were standing back as a pale woman with shaggy blonde hair snarled and threw a vase on a nearby table across the room, shattering on the wall. She slapped one doctor and gripped the other by the arm, ripping the cuff of her white coat.

"Come on, Leslie. Calm down!" Oliver urged, grabbing the bedridden lady's shoulders and prying her off of the doctor. Tracey and Brock stutter-stepped back from where they were as Leslie screamed shrilly and tried to push Oliver. Tracey's father tried to hold her down with the doctor, but he jumped back and shouted as she sank her teeth into his wrist. The physician who was slapped darted over and stuck a syringe into Leslie's arm, and after a few more moments, her episode subsided and she fell back in her bed, her mouth open.

Reluctantly, Brock and Tracey took off down the corridor. All kinds of questions swam in Tracey's mind, but they were quickly overtaken by images of the screaming victims: the cowering lad, the shrill woman, the ragged tear marks near their necks, his father being bitten, a faint tinge of red on one of the woman's sharp teeth. But Tracey didn't say a word. He couldn't.

Brock was silent as well, his mind just as abuzz and his spine just as chilled. He had no idea what they just saw or what the doctors knew. But he did know they were telling Zordon and Alpha right away.


	4. The Unknown Threat

A low, rolling laugh rang out through the main chamber Rita Repulsa's wrought-iron Moon Palace, one which would have frightened any normal person, but only Goldar occupied the room. He stood with his golden-armored arms crossed, peering through his empress' magical Repulsascope with a piercing red eye. He was surveying a number of people laying in Amalei Region medical centers, all writhing, screaming, or lashing out at those that tried to help them.

Goldar continued laughing as he spied upon the two at the Feron Grove Hospital; Leslie lay slack on her hospital bed and the boy was still curled under his blanket.

Suddenly, the chief warrior silenced himself as a sharp point tapped the back of his brawny neck. Goldar turned around to see Rita staring hard at him, brandishing Scorpina's boomerang-shaped blade, the sword's owner standing near the beginning of the main corridor.

"When I say no one is allowed to get their disgusting eyes on my Repulsascope," Rita warned, continuing to point the sword at Goldar as he stepped off of the balcony overseeing outer space and to the lower floor. "I mean _no one._ " She then smiled and flicked her wrist, spinning the blade in the air. Scorpina smirked at Goldar and raised a similarly gold-colored, clawed hand, catching the weapon in midair.

"Again, such an elegant weapon, Scorpina."

"Thank you, my lady," Scorpina said, bowing slightly. "It'll do just fine to finally gut those Rangers."

Goldar snorted. "Finally."

A smile curled Scorpina's red lips, and she walked closer to the two, dragging her blade across the scales of her armored arm. "Brought the Rangers to their knees, almost vivisected their pets, and left that little seaside town in flames. Now what have you done?"

Goldar snarled and shot one of his paws toward the lady warrior's throat, lifting her off the ground. Scorpina did nothing to defend herself and kept smiling as Goldar tightened his grip. He was going to summon his own weapon, but was interrupted.

"Such wasted effort, you fool! Scorpina is right. She will lead the troops this time. _You_ will play it like I tell you."

Goldar looked at his queen with wide eyes. Rita stood facing her balcony, tracing a purple fingernail over one newly formed wrinkle on her usually smooth face. Goldar then loosened his grip and returned his teammate to her feet; Scorpina's grin never left her face.

"So tonight then, my mistress?" Scorpina inquired, softly dragging a claw under Goldar's blue chin; the ape-griffin narrowed his gaze as the alien in front of him repeated this gesture. "Finster has prepared some Putties to join me as we go through that farm village."

"Yes," Rita replied, twirling around and moving to go to the corridor. "Make sure each Power Ranger has a chance to meet Dredwing."

Scorpina bowed as Rita strode into the darkness. Goldar kept his eyes to the ground. Seconds passed, the huge brown pendulum making the only noise in the throne room.

"What do _you_ want?" Goldar snapped.

Scorpina cocked her head to the side, looking around the corner. The huge figure of Rita's high counselor emerged from the shadows and took his place next to Scorpina.

"I'd say you sound angry, General Goldar," the counselor spoke. He blinked three of his bulbous eyes and then two more, the off-white eyelids slowly closing over each bloodshot organ. "But it sounds more like desperation."

"Watch your tongue, you overgrown pimple," Goldar warned. A plume of flames filled his open hand and formed his serrated sword.

"What tongue?" the counselor asked.

A few more silent seconds passed. Rita's top counsel looked right into Goldar's irises, red against red.

"That's a real scary look," he finally said in his growly voice. "Have you any more to contribute."

"Something you likely haven't noticed, an opportunity to divide the Power Rangers from the inside," Goldar replied.

"The Red and Green Rangers in a little tiff? You underestimate me. Of course I know how to capitalize on that."

Goldar took a few steps toward the hulking monster and sneered as Scorpina kept watching. "Take care of the Feran girl as well. Then the team will fall."

The counselor bent his body forward in acknowledgement, his right hand covering where his heart would be.

"A wise observation, General. A wise observation indeed."

"Ash, your head!"

The Ketchum boy did his best not to furrow his eyebrows at Hayashi as he came over to him.

"Try again just like you did."

Ash clenched his teeth and whirled around on his left leg. Before he could fully launch a spin kick, a burst of air swept over him, and Ash closed his eyes, stopping his attack.

Hayashi lowered his fist and said, "See? You've gotta look first thing when spinning. It'll probably save your head, alright?"

Ash said nothing, slowly getting back into his guard position. Lia, who was helping one of the other karate students properly turn over their kicking foot, kept her eye on the situation.

"Alright?"

"Osu, Sensei."

Hayashi nodded at Ash and backed away to the first of the four lines that filled the workout floor. He tightened his black belt and took a breath.

"Turn it all around, people!" Lia called out. "Head, feet, hips. Five-star 180s—let's keep going! Ichi! Ni! San!"

With each count, the group turned everything they had to perfect their spinning side kicks. As they moved, the Feran siblings would keep commenting and trying to refine the techniques.

"Heads! Heads!" Hayashi reminded. He demonstrated the maneuver to some of the students nearby, including Ash. He raised his eyebrow as he finished his kick, Ash and Terry, who was in the line behind Ash, doing the same. Meanwhile, Lia kept counting, putting her right hand in front of practitioners she walked in front of when they kicked, making sure they were kicking above the belt.

"I know that look," Misty remarked. She sat at the counter where Darren was working, writing in her notebook and sipping her strawberry-lime smoothie. "Ash is going to start yelling and say something stupid."

"I wouldn't equate that with mad or determined, Misty," Darren said. He stared at a business card in his hand, put it in his tropical shirt pocket, and went back to polishing some of the drinking glasses. "Wait…he put on that dress and wig to get into Celadon Gym with those gangsters, right?"

Misty started snickering and Darren chortled. He ran a hand over his goatee and shook his head. "Okay, I guess that could qualify. Whatever happened to those guys, by the way?"

"Yah!"

Misty quickly turned to the left, noticing something lightly burrowing into her side. Little Colleen from the junior karate class retracted her fist and waved at the redheaded teen.

"Heya Misty!" she greeted.

Misty brought the girl into a side hug and replied, "Hi sweetie. You excited for tomorrow?"

"We're gonna kick so much butt tomorrow!" Colleen exclaimed. She tightened the green ribbon in her blonde hair and started bending down and doing lunges in place.

Darren smiled. "I'll bet. The Fall Field Day Weekend always has these kids going a mile a minute before the ref says, 'Go!' It's going to be a busy day for you, Misty."

"Yeah," Misty responded. "Good thing we've got plenty of help to set things up for them tomorrow. Yashid or his brother should be texting me the head count for volunteers any minute."

Sure enough, a text message came through on Misty's phone about ten minutes later. As she checked the screen, her content expression left her face, and she got up to leave.

"Where you goin'?" Colleen asked, still stretching out before her event practice.

"I have to meet the team right now. I'll see you guys tomorrow." Misty said, and with a wave, she stepped down to go see her three friends in the karate class, which just got out. As she made it to the practice floor, Terry passed her by.

"Oof," he sighed, wiping his sweaty face with the sleeve of his uniform. "That was intense. Hope he calms down fast."

Misty nodded and went over to Lia, Ash, and Hayashi. She was caught up with Darren and Colleen and didn't notice Ash and Hayashi talking. The two were getting closer and closer and their voices were hushed.

"You need to lay off me, man," Ash said flatly. "I've got what you said. I'm getting better at it."

Hayashi flared his nostrils. "I will not. You need to tune me in. Stop resisting; that's what you're focused on, not your technique."

"I understand. But still, _lay off._ I'm not the only student. Go pick on someone else."

"You're not telling me how to do my job."

Misty sighed and looked at Lia, who then raised her voice and grabbed both of them by the shoulder.

"Yeah, but I will! _Both of you_ are focused on each other and not on what's important. Ash, Hayashi is teaching you; he's not tearing you down as a friend." She turned to her brother. "But you've been riding him a bit today, Hayashi. You know that."

"Yeah, but…"

 _"Hem hem…"_

The three arguers immediately locked eyes onto Misty, who stood there with a grimace and raised her cell phone up for them to see a message:

 _Tracey: At Command Center with Brock. We've got an idea on what's attacking everyone around here. Get here ASAP._

The four friends immediately headed to the Union exit and out the door. They jogged around the corner to the loading area and, after checking to see that the coast was clear, activated the teleportation button on their Communicators and vanished in four points of light.

"Okay…I thought it couldn't get any weirder. But here we are."

Hayashi ran a hand over his face and over his short blonde ponytail when Brock and Tracey told him the news. All of the Rangers were now in the Command Center with Zordon and Alpha 5, and the sun had begun to set over all of Feron Grove.

"So you're saying you don't believe us."

The older Feran teenager shook his head and looked back at Tracey, who was puzzling over a piece of paper that came out of the Command Center's printer.

"No, I don't believe in vampires, Brock, but shattering beliefs comes with this job, right?"

Brock shrugged and leaned over one of the smooth purple consoles and looked at the printout along with Tracey and Misty. Ash and Lia stood off near another one, checking the monster energy scans.

"Well it makes sense to me, at least a little." Ash interjected. "Everyone that was found bitten was found at night or near the dawn. And most of the bites are near the neck."

"But all of our scanners are online," Lia added, squinting her eyes at the readout on the screen. "How could they not pick up on Rita's magic? This thing has been all over the island and _nothing."_

"That is correct, Lia," Alpha, who was trotting from one group to the other, spoke. "We have strengthened our tracking systems and our network at large since Rita possessed Hayashi, but we've detected no abnormalities. As soon as an attack happens, the assailant must disappear as quickly as it appeared."

"This is indeed puzzling, Rangers," Zordon admitted. The wizard's giant face grew somber inside of his interdimensional time warp. "But I must ask again, have any of you seen anything we might not have been able to?"

Tracey let out a small groan and pounded his left fist into his right palm. He could still see his father and his coworkers being attacked by the woman and the little boy curling under the blanket.

"Like I said before, Zordon, all we saw were the victims reacting violently," he answered. "The woman bit my father and the boy went under his blanket, which was in the path of a sunbeam."

Misty had been silent the whole time, but then she snapped her fingers and said, "I believe you, Tracey. So maybe there may be another answer."

"What?"

The young woman paused for a moment, scratching her chin. "Well, if this creature is a vampire, it may not be one of Rita's monsters at all. Her magic and the clay she uses to make her monsters wouldn't show up on our radar because there's nothing there to detect."

"You're right," Tracey acknowledged.

"Of course!" Brock shouted, dropping the printout detailing the map of the attacks. "But that means…"

Misty frowned and did her best not to shudder. "There's likely something else at work here…"

Just then, a small beeping sound interrupted the conversation. Ash dug into the pocket of his workout pants and retrieved his watch, which read 6:00.

"Things just got better, guys," he announced. "Sun's about to go bye-bye. We've gotta move."

"Hold on, Ash," Hayashi cautioned. He grabbed the boy by the shoulder. "We don't even know where this vampire will strike next."

"He's right. There's no clear pattern here. We'd be going out there blind." Brock said, ignoring Ash jolting his shoulder and knocking Hayashi's hand off of it.

After Brock spoke, the polygonal Monster Alarm added its two cents, blaring and setting off its warm array of lights.

"Ay-yi-yi-yi-yi!" Alpha squealed, clopping his metallic feet across the floor. "It's Scorpina!"

The group of humans turned to the Viewing Globe, and Scorpina was indeed present, marching through a grassy field with a squad of Putty Patrollers around her.

"My sensors indicate that they are heading toward a neighborhood in Riko," Zordon said. "We must act quickly and cautiously, Power Rangers."

"Let's get 'em," Ash hissed, reaching for his Morpher.

"Wait!"

Ash and the others moved their attention to Misty, who was the only one not to reach for her Power Morpher.

"I've…I've got a bad feeling," she stammered. "This is some kind of trap. It may involve that beast. We can't all go."

"Good eye, Mist," Hayashi affirmed, giving a thumbs-up.

"You said it," his sister added. "Let's go half and half. I'll go with Ash and Hayashi, Zordon. The others have been more on that thing's tail, so maybe they can pinpoint where it is from here."

"Very well," Zordon conceded. "Lia, Ash, Hayashi, stay alert for anything out of the ordinary. Let the power protect you."

"It's Morphin Time!" the three roared, brandishing and opening their Morphers, calling upon the great essences of the Power Coins and the dinosaurs.

"Dragon!"

"Pterodactyl!"

"Tyrannosaurus!"


	5. Seeing Terror

Rita's horde could be seen moving down the dirt road, but not one human soul dared to step outside. People huddled close to their windows and peeked at the invaders, but that was the most they did until the owner of one of Riko's few shops took a look at what was going on. The squad kept moving, their shapes shady in the dusk, and the man grimaced at them. He motioned for the few customers in his store to keep their heads down, and he reached down and grabbed a big shovel that was next to the counter.

Scorpina saw this and flashed her sick, ruby-lipped smile. Two Putties flanking her raised their bladed arms as the lady warrior brandished her sword, and they were instantly rebuffed by three colorful shapes. The two gray goons were thrown into the dirt by the Pink and Red Rangers, who respectively struck with a ridgehand blow and a reverse elbow smash. Scorpina was rebuffed into a few of her Putties, but stood her ground in a deep stance, pushing her blade against the Green Ranger's Dragon Dagger.

"When are you guys going to learn?" Green Ranger asked. He swept his leg under Scorpina and sent her back-first into the path. Before Hayashi could land another attack, a Putty Patroller slammed a forearm into his right shoulder, but bounced off of his golden shield. Hayashi elbowed the enemy out of his way just in time to slash another Putty with his dagger and toss it into its compatriot.

"I believe you're the ones with much to learn, child!" Scorpina hissed. She had since kipped up and clashed with the Ranger again. She pushed the Dragon Dagger out of the way and dove her gauntlet into Green Ranger's suit-covered stomach, causing a burst of painful energy.

As those two fought, the Red Ranger was taking on three foes at once. With loud yells, he pummeled one with fast punches to its tough face and chest as it tried to break into the shop. He took down another foot soldier coming in from behind with a side kick and sent it into one of the building's cement posts.

The Pink Ranger was just as busy. After felling two Putties with a jumping twin side kick, she wheeled around to take on another that was coming right at her. Just as Lia torqued her hips back and prepared to levy her right fist to the goon's face, a stray Putty came in from the side, babbling as it slashed her across the chest with a craggy, bladed arm.

"Pink!" Ash shouted. He had an enemy's arm pinned up against its chest and rammed it into the ground, but another Putty was quickly upon him before he could come to his teammate's aid.

"I've gotcha!" Hayashi called out. He turned his head and crescent-kicked a Putty Patroller out of the way. As he did, he had to immediately turn back and dodge as Scorpina sliced at his neck with her pointy gauntlet and pushed him back with her boomerang blade.

Lia yelped in pain as she was kicked in her pink and white diamond-patterned back by the Putties. She narrowly avoided being stabbed by the big blade by rolling in the dusty brown dirt. One of the minions growled and reached down, hoisting the Pink Ranger up by her head. Lia painfully peered into its flashing red eyes as it pulled her up, but the gaze was broken when she shot a left palm strike into its jaw and floored the attacker. The Putty with the bladed arm rushed forward, aiming to cleave its prey in two. However, the young lady with the power of the pterodactyl was much too quick. A flick of her wrist unsheathed her Blade Blaster and flicked it to the side, tearing clay off of the Putty's weapon. The clod was startled, too startled to stop the Ranger from assailing it with several cuts with her sidearm.

"Sorry, claybrain. Had to return the gift," Lia said. She looked above her and saw that the faintest glow of the sun had vanished, replaced by the cool dark blue of the evening.

"Not a good sign," she whispered.

The Putties sure were persistent. The three Ash had been fighting followed him to a nearby stable; horses whinnied as the fighting continued. Ash shot one with his laser pistol and now paid attention to another. He slipped his right arm underneath the Putty's own right and flipped backward, making the foot soldier somersault in the air and right into a trough of water.

"Talk about a sloppy landing!" the Red Ranger jested as he brought himself to his feet. He heard the garbled alien language of the last foe behind him, and he chuckled just a bit as he turned his body and brought his left leg into the air. Chuckles turned into a gasp as he missed the mark with his kick and the Putty, already out of the way, slid in and headbutted Ash right over the design of the tyrannosaurus nose on his helmet. He flew down and crashed through a nearby fence, groaning and gritting his teeth. Just as the Putty poised itself to pounce, Green Ranger came in with a butterfly kick, knocking it away.

"You okay, bud?" he asked, extending his gloved hand to Ash. "Those blind spins are tricky."

Ash wanted to spit, but that certainly wouldn't do right now. "Yeah, I gotcha," he answered, taking Hayashi's hand and getting up. "Keeping that in mind."

"Guys! Get over here!"

The two young men heeded the call and sprinted back to the center of the area. Scorpina was kneeling in the road, giggling despite the burn of laser fire searing on her cheek. Lia stood frozen, looking at something happening above her. Ash and Hayashi stood with their mouths agape as blue circles popped up in the air, conjoining with twinkling light.

"HUD scan says this is Rita's magic," Pink Ranger reported. "Surround it…"

Green Ranger and Red Ranger instantly fanned out, Hayashi drawing his Dragon Dagger and Ash summoning his Tyranno Sword. Two flashes of light lit up everything in sight, and the monster finally took solid shape. Eyeball upon bulbous eyeball, all varying in size stacked on top of one another, creating a putrid-white, hulking humanoid mass.

Scorpina continued to giggle. Her giggles erupted into full-on laughter as the creature touched down on the road.

"The comedy show is over, Scorpina!" Lia yelled, a cold chill running down her spine. She had been signaling to her fellow heroes to circle the monster and was ready to tell them to attack, but the thing in front of them could see everything.

"You're no vampire, but I bet you know something!" Ash added. He pointed his sword at the mass of eyeballs, which blinked in succession. He was about to move, but froze in his tracks as Hayashi held up his hand. In that same moment, the Green Ranger leapt into the air, Dragon Dagger reared back to impale the beast. But just as quick as he moved, Rita's monster turned around and growled. It's largest and most bloodshot eye, the one that made the head, blinked, and dozens of twinkling red and blue lights filled his vision. His head throbbed, and that brought Hayashi crashing down to Earth.

"Green Ranger!" Lia cried out to her brother. Yet she dared not move, and besides, the Red Ranger was already moving in, charging low and firing red bolts from his Blade Blaster as he held his Tyranno Sword at the ready. The eyes closed, and the lasers just dissipated as they hit the eyelids. Ash roared and pushed off to the side.

 _"As soon as he opens those eyes, he's done,"_ Ash said to himself.

Sure enough, the eyes opened back up, looking at everything in sight.

 _Game over._

Ash dove the side of his blade into the creature's back, but the eyes' reflexes were much too quick, and the sword made a terrible screech across the lids. Though surprised, the Red Ranger went to attack again, but the monster swiveled around and opened its big eye, and soon the Ranger was gripping his head and groaning, red and blue sparkles dancing in his vision.

Pink Ranger snarled, but she had no time to plan as Scorpina leapt onto her back, wrapping her blade around the neck in a chokehold. The heroine tried to sink down and escape, but the demoness' grip had her cornered close. Scorpina snickered, and so did the Pink Ranger.

"Okay, you asked for it…" she choked out, and she then whipped her head back, slamming the back of her helmet into the top of Scorpina's armored head . Rita's lady warrior shrieked and crumpled down, and Lia fell to her knees, holding her head. She took a look up, and her friends were back on their feet and running toward the eyeball being that walked to meet her.

"The eyes are open! I've got a clear shot!" Red Ranger reported, holding up his sidearm.

"No!" Green Ranger protested, knocking his teammate's arm down. "You're just gonna waste more time! That thing wasn't affected by lasers!"

Ash then threw his hands into Hayashi's gold chest shield, pushing him back. "I told you to _back off,_ man! Like your plan was any better!"

Hayashi shoved back, getting into Ash's face. "Hey, at least I was being quiet! You're just yelling and giving it all away!"

"He can see _everything,_ idiot!"

"Come on…" Pink Ranger groaned. Spit flew from her mouth and into her helmet as she spoke, her head pulsing and forcing her back to a knee when she tried to rise. "Stop fighting! We have to plan…"

Lia's speech was interrupted when the incoming beast gently lifted her up by the arm with his bumpy hand. Scores of irises gazed at her, appreciating the sight of a hurt Power Ranger.

"Looks like you have more than bloodsucking ghouls to deal with, my dear," he spoke.

"Who…who do you think…you…you are?" Lia tried to ask, stumbling over her words due to the blow. But that skull bash seemed like a light tap when the dual-colored lights began to bombard her senses.

"I serve Empress Rita as her most trusted advisor," the creature responded as Lia slipped from his grip. "But the great number of departed friends you will be joining soon always called me Eye Guy."


	6. Screams in the Night

**HI ALL!**

 **I know I've been away for a good long while. I've been very busy as of late, helping my family with some things, and I've just not felt up to writing much. I promise I won't be leaving month-long gaps in-between updates or anything, though, but things will likely be busy as the year rounds out. I am also thinking of starting a dream Zelda project of mine as well, so I will be around. I'm also going to ask my lady about creating some more sketches of the characters in the MMPR stories, so I hope you're enjoying everything! Thanks for all of your support!**

"SHUT UP!"

The Pink Ranger scrambled to her feet and ambled over to the Red and Green Rangers. The two were pressing their helmets' visors together, snarling at each other.

"Shut up, you two!" she yelled again, trying to pry them apart. "We need to find a way to blind that creep! Green, get over there and…"

"Don't you tell me what to do, girl," Green Ranger said in a low voice. "I'm taking control of the strategy now."

Lia immediately poked her brother right in the center of his chest armor. "Don't you call me 'girl'! I've been doing this longer than you, and you're standing around shouting like a child!"

"Ayah!"

The argument continued as Ash let out a battle cry and charged Eye Guy. He slid and pushed off of the ground, jabbing and swinging his Power Weapon's blade at the monster's body. However, the thing's eyes remained closed, and sparks flew from its frame as the Red Ranger attacked, but it didn't move an inch. He then doubled back and prepared to launch a spinning side kick, but before he could look, Eye Guy laughed throatily and released two big eyeballs from his huge palm. They burned bright with energy, striking Ash right in the chest and sending him staggering into the arms of his friends.

"Nice way to just run in there and get your butt kicked…" Lia said.

"Not using your head, Red, as usual…" Hayashi remarked.

Ash reached up and grabbed Hayashi by the shoulders. "Now look here you big green…"

"Naw, Rangers. Look here!" Eye Guy interjected. Four eyeballs flew from his shoulders in a faint white flash, seemingly exploding and toppling his three targets; the eyes then returned to their host's body.

"Don't forget over here!" Scorpina screeched. Her screech caused several spectators huddled in their buildings to gasp or cry out as she whipped her arm back and flung her glowing sword toward the Power Rangers. They could barely bring themselves to stand when they screamed as Scorpina's spinning, stinging projectile razed their limbs and brought them down in an electro-shocking heap.

"Time to make good on my promise, Empress Rita!" Scorpina proclaimed as she ran to retrieve her blade, which still hung spinning in the air. She bounded off of the ground and claimed it, hanging above her prey and raising the sword. She then began to drop, and Scorpina turned her sword blade-down, heading right for Lia's throat.

"Mastodon!"

"Triceratops!"

"Saber-Toothed Tiger!"

Points of black, blue, and yellow light cut through the evening sky and rocketed down to the Riko square. Scorpina touched down, and that's when her blade hit the Ranger—the Blue Ranger, to be specific. Tracey stood in a deep sitting stance, grabbing the villainess' boomerang-like sword with both hands. He raised his head to glare at the grimacing warrior, straining to keep her at bay while the three downed Rangers got out of the way.

"Get off of my blade, human slime!" she spat. Scorpina dug her golden heel into the dirt and yanked back, making the Blue Ranger let go and totter away. As soon as she got control of her sword, the Yellow Ranger was already there and, letting out an enraged yell, pumped her hips and dove her shin right into Scorpina's midsection. She gasped as pain crackled through her middle, and her mouth remained gaping open as Misty shot a right uppercut to her jaw.

"Pink Ranger!" Yellow Ranger called out, being mindful of the townsfolk around them as she joined the others in regrouping. "What is going on? Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine, but no thanks to these bozos," Pink Ranger explained.

"Look who's talking," Red Ranger interjected, pointing at Lia. "No wonder she calls on the pterodactyl. She won't shut that big beak of hers."

"Guys, guys!" Black Ranger protested, holding back Lia while Green Ranger snickered. "This isn't you! Rita's monster has done something to you!" He then turned to Eye Guy, who was joined by Scorpina, and asked, "Hey blinky! What did you do to my friends?!"

Eye Guy growled and said, "I just opened their eyes a little bit, big boy. Why don't you come over and let me open yours too?

"You got it!" Brock challenged, tightening his muscles and sprinting to face him. Misty snapped her fingers as he did, and Tracey joined the three as they fanned out.

"You three take Scorpina!" he ordered Ash, Lia, and Hayashi.

"Great, now the geek's telling me what to do?" Hayashi questioned. He tightened his fist, but did draw his Dragon Dagger again.

"I know…" Ash added. But there was no more time for banter as Scorpina was already on the move, inhaling and hocking a glop of purple blood into the dirt. The three in front of her advanced as well, and the fight ensued once more.

Eye Guy chuckled when the Black, Blue, and Yellow Rangers began to circle him. All of them kept their eyes to the ground, Blade Blasters held at the ready.

 _"Maybe if we keep our eyes down, those twinkling lights won't put us under his spell,"_ Tracey thought.

The veins in Brock's head thumped and thumped as he moved. He fought the urge to yell when his HUD scan didn't register any obvious weaknesses in the creature's physical composition.

 _"If we keep him on his toes, he'll slip up,"_ he said to himself.

 _"He still sees everything,"_ Misty silently added, who was on the same train of thought. _"But he opens those eyes to attack. We have to get him as soon as they do. I just have to trick him."_

The optical organs that comprised the high counselor's back locked onto Yellow Ranger, who darted forward with the blade of her sidearm reared back; Blue and Black Rangers were also on the move, cornering the beast.

"Sorry, I don't have time to play," Eye Guy said. "But you will die without me having to do a thing…"

With that statement, the monster constricted into a dark blue sphere of light, and the heroes' blades struck each other as they came in to attack him, but he was already gone, and so was Scorpina.

"No!" Brock huffed, holstering his weapon. "We didn't even have a chance for our plan!"

"Never mind that," Misty said. "What does he mean he won't have to do anything?" She turned to Tracey, but he was already jogging over to the three other quarreling fighters.

"Come on! Stop arguing! Eye Guy and Scorpina got away!" Blue Ranger urged, but the group kept shoving and growling at each other. At that moment, a new noise added itself to the commotion, one that sounded like the twittering of a flock of birds. The young man with the power of the triceratops looked to the sky, and sure enough, several shapes were flapping fast above.

Bats.

"Blue! My scan's picking up something weird!" Black Ranger cried. "That's gotta be it!"

Misty's blood instantly ran cold. She whipped her head to the sky and saw the flock overhead. Numbers ticked in her HUD's bottom left corner: 9/10.

"Where's the last one…" she whispered, and as she did, she heard a painful scream ring out in the distance.


	7. Just a Taste

"I'm coming! Hold on!" Yellow Ranger exclaimed. The faraway plaintive screaming continued, and the heroine's feet pounded the ground, pushing her closer and closer to the danger.

"Wait for us!" Black Ranger urged, but his teammate was already far south. The other nine bats swung back from chasing Misty and started toward the other five Power Rangers.

"Those aren't regular bats!" Brock reminded everyone within earshot. Doors were starting to open, and Riko townspeople started to creep out, but Brock yelled, "Stay inside!", and only the Rangers stood in front of the winged beings.

Pink Ranger scoffed and held out her hands, which were immediately filled with bright pink light that formed her Ptera Bow and a handful of arrows. She drew one of the projectiles back, shutting her left eye and lining up the arrow's point with where the lead bat's chest cavity would be in five seconds.

"I'll drop these rabies babies for you guys," she said.

Blue Ranger, who had been continuing to monitor his HUD scan, ran up to Lia and grabbed her arm, saying, "Wait! You can't shoot them!"

Lia grunted and elbowed Tracey off of her. "Get your hands off me, dweeb!" she snapped. "Just watch me!"

Tracey ignored her insult and responded, "My scan says they're human! Don't do it!"

The Power Rangers on the scene gasped and steadied themselves. Each one had to fight the urge to move as the nine bats folded their small, furry wings into their chests and extended them. As they came down, their bodies turned from jet black to sallow and nearly yellow, their wings extended into trembling human arms, and their rodent-like faces morphed into ones with bloodshot eyes and pointed teeth.

Five beings dropped onto the Rangers, sinking gnarled hands into their shoulders and trying to dive their teeth into their necks. The Rangers retaliated by grappling back and tossing them down. The other four attackers came next, tangling with those in front of them as their brethren got back to their feet.

Two grabbed Tracey by the arms, clawing at him. One got right in the Blue Ranger's face and bared her teeth, saliva dripping from her yellowish fangs and onto his mask. While the hero tried to shake her off, the man on his arm bit into his bicep. Tracey shouted as the man tried to rip into his protective suit and chew his body; he tried to grab him, but only tore at his ragged, dirty shirt.

Black Ranger had already thrown one of the fanged menaces into the wooden steps of a nearby building and was trying to pry another off of him. Grunting, he ambled over with the assailant on his back, twisted around, and bulldozed the person into the one biting Tracey. The woman clinging to the Blue Ranger was then swept off her feet and then shrieking into the dirt road as Blue Ranger's boot bashed into her calf.

"Thanks buddy," Tracey breathed, holding his sparking shoulder.

"You bet," Brock said, pulling his friend to the side. "You okay?"

"He didn't bite through the suit," Tracey responded. Another warped human charged him, but the Ranger lightly pushed him down with his foot. "I don't know how vampire-proof they are though!"

Three vampires were tangling with the Green, Pink, and Red Rangers. Red Ranger ensnared one from behind and whirled him to the ground while Pink Ranger took another down with a headscissor takeover.

"Hey!" Green Ranger yelled as he swept a thrashing fiend down; he then sprinted over to his companions and poked Ash's chest. "Not so rough! They're human, remember?"

"Just like that sweep, huh?" Ash shot back. "Oh, just set 'em down…"

"Get down, you morons!"

Before the argument could continue, Lia yelled a warning and took her forearms and shoved them into both Rangers' upper backs. As the two fell to the ground, two more vampires who launched themselves through the air ran into each other. Lia then threw one to the ground by the belt loop of her jeans, but she was then pinned down by another. The vampire chuckled and hissed at the Pink Ranger, scratching down the pterodactyl head of her helmet and down her visor with sharp, dirty fingernails. Lia gritted her teeth and bucked her hips, which jostled the attacker off of her but onto his feet. Pink Ranger wrapped her left arm under his and went to slam her right onto the left shoulder, but the vampire slid out of her grip and went around her back and over her shoulder, plunging his dirty fangs into the top of her right pectoral.

People inside the buildings cringed and shut their eyes as Lia screamed. A man inside the store yanked away the shovel the owner was holding and headed for the door. But as he saw the Power Rangers try to bolt to their comrade as they were swarmed, he stopped in his tracks. His whole body trembled and he sank to one knee. He took a look at everyone else inside the store, and their eyes were just as wide.

"Get off!" Blue Ranger snarled. He shot the side of his left hand to the biter's throat and pushed his right palm into his nose. The vampire gurgled, his mouth filled with black goop that covered Lia's chest, and fell to the ground.

"This is just too insane!" Black Ranger breathed, pushing another creature of the night back. "We need to cage these freaks!"

"I'll get 'em…" Lia coughed out as she shoved Tracey aside; thankfully, much like Tracey, the fangs had not gone through her suit. She then summoned her Ptera Bow once more, readying an arrow for the vampires menacing Hayashi and Ash.

"Come on, get back! You don't want any of this!" Ash urged. He swung his Tyranno Sword in wide swipes, the point keeping the creatures at bay. One of them became brave enough to leap forward, and Ash rose his sword vertically to cut straight through the head, but Hayashi intervened.

"Hold up, Red!" he said, swinging his Dragon Dagger and clashing it horizontally with Red Ranger's blade. As soon as he did this, the pursuer's grin drooped into a gasp, and he cowered with his face to the ground.

Red Ranger took one look at the shape the blades made, then looked at Green Ranger. The two nodded and brandished the makeshift crucifix at the group in front of them. They hissed and screeched and darted their faces away from the swords. This gave the heroes a chance to regroup.

"Great thinking, guys," Tracey said. "Finally, some cooperation!"

"I put it together," Hayashi quickly quipped.

"Don't start…" Ash grumbled. Lia started laughing and Brock shook his head, placing his hands together.

"Just hold it together," he quietly said as he formed his Dino Crystal. Raising it to the sky and letting its shimmering black energy envelop him, the Black Ranger slid toward the nine vampires on a smooth path of ice. He kept gliding around the huddled enemies in a frigid circle, going airborne and thrusting his leg out until they were completely encased in the Glacier Flash.

CLASSIFICATION: UNKNOWN

Yellow Ranger's grip around her Tiger Daggers couldn't be any tighter when she read her onscreen scan as she ran and ran and ran. She was long away from the town square, dashing between trees and kicking up leaves and dirt.

"It can't be one of Rita's monsters," she whispered to herself. "But what drew this thing out to start attacking people?"

After a few minutes, she made it to a wide, wheat-filled plain; a lone barn stood fifty feet in front of her and a small house could be seen in the distance. Misty took a second to breathe, taking in the scene.

"Get away from my mommy!" a high-pitched voice squealed.

That's all it took to make Misty keep running. A big thump sounded out, and she burst through the barn door and saw a large, shadowy shape hunched over the ground. A stocky man was face-down on the ground shivering and clutching his neck, and a woman lay back-first against the pale blue walls of the building, sobbing and coughing up some kind of black liquid. Yellow Ranger bounded forward and propelled both of her weapons right to the center of the shadow, but it rose from where it was and disappeared, but not before tossing its victim, a little boy, to the side.

Yellow Ranger gathered the child in her arms, inspecting his body. He had a long cut below the curls of his red hair and was wailing, but he was otherwise fine.

"It's alright, sweetie," Misty softly said, going to check on the man. "It's alright."

She reached over with her left arm and hoisted the man up, sucking in a breath and composing herself. He had a large, bloody tear in the back of his neck and his skin was cold to the touch.

"We're gonna make it," Misty assured, moving over to the woman and grabbing her hand. "Ma'am, I'm going to get you all help right away.

The woman put a hand on her son's head, but didn't go closer to him. She moved strands of her hair away from her mouth and blackened right eye and coughed again, spitting out more dark goop.

"Rangers, this is Yellow," the rescuer spoke into her Wrist Communicator. "I've found the tenth monster here and there are people in serious need of help! Transmitting coordinates now!"

"Don't get close…" the mother hoarsely said, bringing her son's head into her chest and grabbing her husband's hand.

"I'm going to find this creep," Misty replied, pulling her daggers from her white belt. "He's not getting away."

"Don't get close to him!" the female snapped through tears and liquid.

A whisking flap of wind cut through the air. Yellow Ranger whipped her head to the ceiling. But before she could strike, she found herself taken off her feet and her Tiger Daggers fell to the ground. Misty grunted and wriggled and tried to do everything to get free, but she and her captor were already outside and high in the night air. Misty did not scream even as she saw the oblong face of her attacker, full of fangs and blood.

"I didn't want to meet you like this, Ms. Williams," he calmly spoke. In one fluid motion, he flung the Yellow Ranger into the air and floated toward her. With long claws and gnarled, bristly fists, he slashed and punched and struck her all over her head, chest, and neck. He landed two more blows, one to her Power Morpher and one to her mouthpiece, and the Ranger groaned as crackling electricity took over her body, her suit vanishing and leaving her in her regular clothes.

Dredwing smiled and grabbed the girl once more, caressing her slack body in midair.

"Much better," he said.

The young lady's breath hitched, and her eyes suddenly snapped open in a glare. She balled up her right fist and threw it straight for the monster's chest, but Dredwing caught it and clenched down hard, forcing Misty's hand open.

"Just a taste…"

Misty's eyes widened at those words, and she let out a short yell as three of Dredwing's fangs pierced her wrist. Blood flowed out of her body and over the vampire's teeth and tongue, and all Misty could do was flail her legs and left arm in an attempt to fight.

"Just a taste…" Dredwing repeated after removing himself from the wound. He flicked his tongue out and pressed his giant lower fang against the base, pricking it open. Misty's mouth hung open, but she soon sputtered as a drop of a black, viscous substance fell into her throat.

"Hey!"

Dredwing twirled in the air with his captive in tow and laughed as the shout from below filled his ears.

"Right on cue," he said. "I'll see you again, dear."

In that moment, Dredwing flapped his wide wings and took to the sky, letting Misty fall from his grip; he went higher and higher, absorbing laser fire as he soon vanished in a black haze. But Misty continued to plummet, her whole body burning. It was all she felt until the arms of the Power Rangers broke her fall, and then everything went black.


	8. Ebb and Flow

The smooth blue face of Zordon contorted into a pensive frown as he observed everything on the Viewing Globe. He closed his eyes while Alpha 5 emerged from a rectangle of bright white light in a corner of the Command Center.

"Alpha, please ready the vital scanner for the Yellow Ranger," he commanded.

"Right away, Zordon," Alpha answered. The robotic assistant nodded and pressed a blinking blue button on one of the computer panels; a small rectangular door popped open on the side of the console as he did so. Soon after that, six columns of light flew in from above and touched down, revealing the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, the Red Ranger and Pink Ranger supporting Misty under her arms.

"Misty, are you alright?" Alpha squeaked, coming over to help guide her to the scanner.

The girl from Cerulean City hitched her breath and gritted her teeth. She let out a pained cry and shuffled away from her friends' grip, clutching her wrist. She tried to stop herself from screaming, but it was of little help.

Ash took Misty by her other hand and helped her up, moving her over to Alpha. At the last second, Green Ranger came in and gently helped her along. Ash nudged Hayashi, and Hayashi returned the gesture only to be shoved back, along with Ash, by Lia.

"Where did you transport the vampires, Zordon?" Black Ranger asked. As soon as he had frozen them with the power of his Dino Crystal, he reported to Zordon, and the imprisoned group had vanished from the battlefield in a column of white light.

"I have transported the afflicted humans to a separate chamber in the Command Center, Brock," the good wizard began. "We will be monitoring their conditions while they are frozen."

"Man, I hope that ice holds up for a while," Brock said. He sank to one of his knees and tried to catch his breath, removing his helmet as well.

Blue Ranger did the same, his lips pursed in a frown; the other Rangers followed suit. "That depends on what powers those victims have now that they're under the monster's control. There's no telling what they can do even if they are frozen."

"Well, isn't it obvious what we have to do?" Hayashi posed, putting a hand on Misty's shoulder while Alpha attacked two adhesive cables to the top of her chest. "That flying freak is clearly the head vampire. Destroying him should free everyone he's bitten."

Ash grimaced and pushed Hayashi's hand off of Misty's shoulder, which made Hayashi narrow his eyes at him. "How do you know that?" he questioned. "He may just be a more mutated form of one of those henchmen. We don't even have a name for what he is."

"Yeah, just go ahead and ask him…" Lia scoffed.

"You know what, two-tone?" Ash shot, turning to her; Brock and Tracey just shook their heads. "I've had just about enough…"

"STOP!"

Everyone turned their heads to look at Misty, who was clutching her chest after yelling.

"I don't know what Eye Guy did to you," she started. "But you're acting like children! Alpha, isn't there a way we can see what's wrong with them?"

"Certainly," the mechanical assistant replied. "I can do so while the scanner maps out how you're doing."

While the monitor registered Misty's vital signs, Alpha went to retrieve a prong-shaped device with glowing ends from a compartment in the computer terminal. As Alpha ran the device over the bodies of Ash, Lia, and Hayashi, Misty looked at her pale arm. Streaks of blood stained it just above the elbow, and three puncture wounds dotted her wrist—two on top and one on bottom. The wound throbbed just like her entire body did.

"Shouldn't I be turning into a bloodsucker by now?" Misty asked, letting out a disbelieving snort and pushing her hair behind her ear. "Everyone else bitten has been laid up in the hospital or is trying to have us as an in-flight meal."

"We're just glad you are here with us, Misty," Zordon spoke. "I especially commend you for rescuing that family at the cost of your health."

Misty smiled and gritted her teeth again as a burning sensation shot through her. "I tried fighting the best I could, but that furry weirdo was faster than anyone or anything I've ever seen fight. This bite doesn't look too bad, but it sure felt awful."

"There it is, my friends," Alpha interjected. He drew his detector back and tilted his saucer-shaped head. "The Eye Guy's attack has tapped into your innate aggressions and your brains' abilities to have you cooperate with others, rendering you unable to fully work together."

"Alright, so all we have to do is stomp him into a puddle of goop?" Lia asked. "Seems easy enough. Leave it to me and let these amateurs see how it's done."

"He didn't even say what would break the spell, dingus," Hayashi interrupted, thumping her on the head.

Tracey and Brock could do little but frown while the arguments resumed. Misty looked at both of them and also frowned, raising her eyebrows as the vital scanner began to beep. This made all of the Rangers crowd around their injured friend. At this point, the human body shape on the computer monitor blipped red in small bursts. Misty didn't look at the screen, but she saw those red flashes. They overtook her vision, but they soon gave way to short sights. Dredwing's fangs baring down on necks, arms, any type of human flesh. She heard ragged, pained screams, and she let out one of her own, buckling to the ground.

"Misty! Misty!" everyone said, going to help her to her feet. The young lady snapped her head up, wildly pushing her friends' arms aside and gasping.

"Misty, please!" Zordon commanded. "You must calm down!"

Suddenly, the girl hitched her breath and sank down into her teammates' arms. "I saw him attacking people. I don't know if he's doing that right now, but I saw it…I heard them scream…"

Alpha went to look at the monitor while Zordon looked on at his group of heroes, all huddling and comforting Misty with no hint of argument.

"Your bodily functions are strained, but they read as normal," Alpha reported, his metallic feet tittering on the floor while he walked. "Something foreign has obviously caused your outburst."

"A vampire bite should do that…" Tracey surmised. "But the Dino Power is obviously holding its effects at bay."

Brock furrowed his brow and added his thoughts. "Not always, Tracey. In some of the movies I've seen, vampire blood must be directly transferred to a victim in order for that to happen."

"This isn't a movie, though," Lia interjected. "And maybe the bite moves it along somehow…"

Her voice trailed off as she looked down at her chest. The pink and white material was mottled with a huge black stain, and only now was the rotten smell hitting her senses.

"Wait…"

"Correct, Lia," Zordon interjected. "According to the vital scan and my sensors, that viscous substance is indeed a bodily byproduct."

"He…he…"

"He what, Mist?" Ash asked, his tone finally growing softer.

"He…" Misty continued to stammer. "pricked open his tongue while I was out and…"

That's when the red flashes appeared again, and the screams hit her mind again.

"Humph, you're move seems just like one that worthless boy Hayashi would make."

Dredwing lapped at his fangs, listening to the words of Rita Repulsa that came to him like a blowing wind. He stood in a corner of one of the tunnels in Life's End; four of his subordinates were bent to the dirty ground face-down, trembling due to the chill in their bodies and the words of the empress.

"Except I am building my legion by leaps and bounds, Queen Rita, and my children will be back to work before the night is through." Dredwing commented calmly. "One more day, and we will be ready to enjoy the nightlife. Not to mention, one of my leading ladies will be the lovely Misty. Just one drop will drive her mad and soon to my arms."

"I instructed you to attack all of the Rangers!" Rita's voice snapped. "You did not, and you lost nine of your followers to Zordon! I don't care about your little crush!"

Dredwing laughed, putting a hoary foot on the back of one of a shivering man that tried to rise. "And this is where I must agree with your criticism. I don't mind leaving some of my children to him and his warriors. Their electronic trinkets and magic coins won't stave off my power forever. We'll have our day in the sun. It's just a matter of time."


	9. Stop Fighting It

3:15.

Misty stared at the stark, red, lit-up numbers of the alarm clock on Lia's bedside table, her eyes prickling as she pulled on the top of her sleeping bag. She reached to scratch at her right wrist, but forced herself to pull back as soon as her forefinger touched a white bandage that covered her wound. The girl gritted her teeth and shifted over to her side.

With Zordon's guidance, Alpha had fashioned the dressing Misty wore on her wrist so that it would monitor her physical status in relation to the poison that was now in her veins. She then went with Lia to her house, setting up the story with the Ferans and her Aunt Rose that she was staying the night. Things had been mostly quiet until Lia got a call from Zordon that Dredwing and some of his minions had been spotted somewhere in Kau Cove. It was then that Lia deftly tossed the sleeping bag Misty now tossed and turned in to the ground and scoffed before she teleported to help.

Lia now lay asleep in her bed and on her stomach; her back had four violet bruises running down the spine, the result of one of the vampires trying to claw her back open. Seven more people had been attacked in a beachside neighborhood of the town, and while the five Power Rangers did subdue Dredwing's minions for a bit, the arguing among Ash, Lia, and Hayashi heightened to where the master bloodsucker easily repulsed them, leaving with his vassals.

"Idiot boy…"

Misty's ears perked up and she rose to a vertical base. She could hear Hayashi repeating those words in his sleep from the next room. She frowned and hissed as another pang pulsed in her wrist. The Cerulean City native then sunk into her sleeping bag again. Flashes of Dredwing's pointy face filled her mind, but she shook her head and tried to block it out as she closed her eyes. Not caught in the grips of slumber, she clasped her hands together and began silently speaking.

All too soon, Misty was up and about when the sun came up. She barely said anything to the Ferans as she sipped her orange juice at the breakfast table. Ellie raised her left eyebrow above her circular spectacles as Misty looked to be swallowing painfully.

"You look pale, honey," the matriarch said. "And real tired. You feeling okay?"

"Sure," Misty replied, eating two whole pieces of bacon in just two bites. "Just a little under the weather. I'm gonna get it together."

That last sentence got Lia and Hayashi's attention. Both of them rose from their seats and left the table without a word, scowling at one another.

Smith shook his head. "Good thing you got down here last," he told Misty. "Those two were just going on about something. I haven't seen them argue like that in a long time."

Misty did her best to smile. "We all have a lot on our plate, Mr. Feran. I've got three sisters, so I know how it gets. They'll get over whatever happened soon."

"Yeah, but it just came out of nowhere."

Misty downed the rest of her drink and gasped. "It sure does," she responded. "It sure does."

An hour later, she found herself on the fields next to the athletic complex, working to set things up for Fall Field Day basically on autopilot. Whether she was setting up athletic cones, soccer goals, or anything else, Misty tried to block out the steady prickling feeling that coursed in her body. The sensation picked up a little as soon as the children and their supporters started arriving.

"The dash relays are up first, Yashid!" she told Rashid's brother. "Make sure they're all stretching out…"

Yashid smiled and raised an eyebrow under his curly black hair, pointing a thumb to what Misty already saw: groups of children stretching and chasing each other across the grass. She could see little Colleen waving at her as she played with Rena and Nicky, two children from their October beach excursion.

"You've been going a mile a minute, Misty," Eliza Peterson said as she plunked a heavy box next to the registration table. "It's not like everything's going to go off the rails before the games begin."

Misty softly grunted and started hoisting gleaming gold trophies out of the box, setting them on the table; a couple more jolts of pain made her twitch. "Guess I'm just a little excited, Eliza."

"Yeah, but you're sweating," Eliza continued, noticing moisture cascading down her friend's head. "And pale. Maybe you should sit this one out."

'I'm already sitting," Misty replied in a hurried tone.

"Then tag out for a bit, then."

Misty whipped around to see Ash and Chief Kanzaki coming up behind her; both of them wore ball caps and matching midnight blue shirts.

Misty's wrist twitched, and she wiped her forehead with a yellow bandana tied around her wrist. "I am a little off right now," she said. "I guess I could come back later."

"Sure, kid," Kanzaki added, patting the girl's shoulder. "I'll watch your post for a while. I'm on-call anyway."

Misty nodded and gave Eliza a side-arm hug, then started walking off with Ash toward the parking lot.

"Being a shadow?" Misty managed to joke, flipping Ash's cap.

The young man scoffed, readjusting his headgear. "What's it to ya?"

Misty rolled her eyes and threw up a salute, attempting to lighten the mood as a flash of fangs came to her mind. "That's really awesome though."

Ash took his hand and gripped Misty by the shoulder, stopping her. "Enough with the jokes," he said. "You need to stay out of sight. Dredwing and that eyeball freak are likely keeping watch on you. I…"

Misty's smile faded as she noticed Ash's harsh countenance waver as well. His grip on her shoulder was still cautionary, but softer.

"I'll be fine, Ash," she assured, trying to not convulse again. "Dredwing's a night creature, so this is the perfect time to stop him. But you and Hayashi and Lia are the ones really in trouble since Eye Guy put that spell on you."

Ash glared again. "I don't need any of your pep talks in addition to theirs. They're not so perfect, you know."

"Okay, then what have Zordon and Alpha found out?"

Ash sighed, lowering his head. "At least _they're_ of some use…" he droned. "But not really. Destroying Dredwing will free everyone from his control, but it's taking a lot of energy from the Morphing Grid to just hold the vampires we have down. They break through Brock's ice every few hours, and he can't just be a human freezer all day."

"Then all we have to do is stake ol' Bat Boss down," Misty said, turning away from Ash and starting off again. Talking would do no more good.

"That sounds like a strategy I'd make," Ash growled. "Where are you going?"

"I know you won't right now, but trust me." Misty closed her eyes. Another few pulses of pain and vision of Dredwing's hoary face emerged, but she just took it all in. "I don't know, but trust me."


	10. Tired of Talking

**Note: True to the chapter title, this is the last super-talkative chapter for a while! Back to action next chapter! Thanks to all who have stuck with me!**

"Come on. Where are you?"

"Ha ha ha. So you _want_ to know? You're the first in a long, long, time who's truly wanted to know."

"Yes, I do."

Misty spoke under her breath, trying her best to not look hurried while she walked through the streets of Feron Grove. Instead of his menacing visage filling her being, Dredwing's smooth voice entered her conscious. The monster's image did come to mind, but the young woman imagined herself finding the beast, diving her Tiger Daggers into his chest. The voices, footsteps, and other miscellaneous sounds of the city were suddenly silenced as she replayed the scene over and over in her head, her quiet goal her only aim. Just before she could have a tenth encore, a blinding flash of light pierced her imagination and caused her to buckle near a lamppost. A man nearby offered her a hand to help her up, but Misty waved him off, taking a deep breath as she rose.

"Why, that isn't nice, my Waterflower," Dredwing said. "You finally let me in, and that's how you think I want to let you in?"

"Dead as a doornail suits you," Misty whispered, wiping her forehead yet again. She had been perspiring ever since she left Field Day. "Besides, you're already halfway there."

Dredwing allowed himself to chuckle. The girl's banter brought a warm feeling to his body, much like when he faced the impending sunrise.

"So are you," the villain countered. "at least to my in-between existence. You'll come to me soon enough."

Misty spat on the concrete as she rounded the street corner, the creature's voice leaving her. She reached into her pocket, squeezing her Power Coin. The momentary silence the girl experienced was broken again as the chugging of a trolley filled the air. Misty hitched in pain again, then quickly made her way to the stop the big green transport was at, leaping up the trolley steps. She took a seat all the way in the back, sinking down and activating her Communicator.

"Brock, Tracey, how's it coming?" she asked, keeping her voice as low as she could.

"Oh, just as you'd expect…" Brock said. "All the books at the library are just standard concerning vampires. Holy water, fire, no reflections…"

"All first grade," Lia cut in, a rustling sound coming over the Communicator." But _Island Legends_ does have a little something interesting about a group of creatures called Vires."

"Right," Tracey interjected. "Before the great plague, or when Rita came to Earth…"

"Hey, shut it, sketch pad!" Lia snapped, forcing Misty to cover the top of her Wrist Communicator so others wouldn't hear; the last few people at the trolley stop had just taken their seats, and the vehicle was starting to move along. "I've got the info."

"Okay, you know what, Lia?"

A loud thump, followed by Brock saying, "Quiet!" was then bookended by Hayashi's voice. "Long story short, Mist, Vires were a lot like our pal Dredwing."

"Hairy and ugly?"

"Bloodthirsty and super fast, too. But according to this, those that saw these things knew they could move about by day as long as they weren't in the sun. So these vamps are likely very busy right now."

"Thanks, Hayashi," Misty said. She pressed her pounding head against the cool window she sat next to, watching the road roll by as she was being taken out of town. "I'll keep that in mind."

From the cold, cold balcony of Rita's Moon Palace, the evil empress herself kept her eye on Misty's journey, smiling and surveying the city of Feron Grove when she saw where the trolley was going.

"I must say I'm pleased with where this is going, counselor," she remarked to Eye Guy, who stood right by her side. "Dredwing should take care of our redheaded darling."

"Absolutely, Empress Rita. I knew there was no reason to worry," Eye Guy growled, wiping away a few flecks of dark yellow slime from three bulbous eyes on his chest. "Unlike Green Ranger, he stays a busy fellow when he isn't fighting Zordon's forces."

Rita twirled her circular staff, her bright white teeth glinting through her smile.

"And so shall we, except it's time to take them head-on," Rita responded. She kept her gaze fixed on Planet Earth, and then said, "Scorpina, I will be sending some of Finster's heavy troops to surprise the Red Ranger. You are to tear apart what's left of the other four brats."

Scorpina's deep red lips turned upward, her tongue tracing them as she clapped her metallic palms together.

"As you wish, my lady!" she cheerfully chirped. "Time to burn some sunlight!"

After Scorpina spoke, Rita reared her scepter back, and with a throaty cackle, she whipped it forward, releasing a torrent of violet and gray light straight toward Earth.

Fall Field Day was going on without a hitch. Teams of kids ran, jumped, and played ball games and everyone seemed to be having the best time, even Ash, who was grinning ear to ear as he helped get ready to officiate the tug of war.

Kanzaki noticed the boy's countenance as she talked to some of the parents that were watching. She could tell it had been a while since he last smiled; he had seemed even sourer when he had met her earlier in the day.

Everything was set: the groups of children were bent low to the ground, gripping the bulky brown rope that lay on the grass, and Ash had his arms raised high, ready to get the game underway. That's when four columns of blended purple and gray light struck the area. Most everyone literally dropped everything, shocked to see four brawny beings materialize on the field. That's when some of the children nearest Ash screamed, and when the young man turned his head, that's when a black, craggy fist crashed into his forehead.


	11. Recreation

_BANG! BANG! BANG!_

Chief Kanzaki fired bullet after bullet into the Putty Patroller that made smooth yet imposing strides toward her, but the being shrugged off the shots and slung its massive arm toward her throat. Kanzaki ducked that attack and stepped behind the Putty, immediately firing a shot into the back of its head and making the foot soldier stutter and allowing some kids to escape to their parents and friends. The chief shuffled to the side and wrapped her arms and nightstick around the Putty's throat, and she saw Ash side kick one of the enemies in the chest and move to grapple with another that kicked an adolescent boy down to the grass.

"Somebody's grown up fast…" Ash grunted as he tried to push the foe away. These Putties were much bigger than the others, with rough-hewn bodies and coal black eyes. This Putty tilted its head, examining the small prey it was tangling with. Ash strained against the alien's weight, closing his eyes and clamping his teeth down; drops of blood crept down from the torn skin of his throbbing head. With a lurch, the Putty pushed Ash to the ground. The young man grapevined the Putty's leg for a takedown, but the rocky being didn't budge.

"Get away from that kid!" one of the spectators shouted. He was ushering children and adults away from the danger and tried to come over to help Ash, but was floored by one of the four invaders' heavy clothesline strikes.

Ash dodged a fist raining down from above, shimmying away, but a heavy foot stomped his shin and caused him to cry out.

"Zordon," he rasped, shoving his Wrist Communicator close to his mouth. He shouted again as he deflected a hammer fist with his forearm. "There's major trouble here at the athletic fields!"

"We see it, Ash," the wizard replied. "Help is on the way. Alpha, contact the Rangers still in Feron Grove."

"Right away, Zordon!" Alpha answered.

Ash then wrenched himself away from his attacker's sight, getting up and landing a spinning heel kick to the head. The Putty Patroller staggered, and Ash yelled and levied a stiff side sick to its back. While the villain buckled, Ash hobbled over near the stands, where a few children were cornered by two of the minions.

"Back off!" one of the older kids screamed, and he soon found himself shoved into the arms of the other Putty, who shoved him into the metal railing of the bleachers.

"Chief!" Ash yelled. Kanzaki, who had kept her assailant at bay by diving the top of her baton into its eye, whipped around and pried her sleeve from the Putty's grip and tossed her sidearm to Ash. He leapt onto one of the bleacher rows and started clubbing the one who had hurt the boy, but to little effect. Just before he started swinging, he noticed the other Putty reaching its craggy palm to grab a cowering Nicky, but Ash turned his head and flung the nightstick at its face, stunning it. The crouched youngsters fled to Chief Kanzaki while Ash was yanked down by his midnight blue shirt. Colleen noticed this and dashed back, ambling up the metal seats. She clenched her fists in a fighting position and started flinging round kicks at the large Putty's quad area, the creature just ignoring her.

"Hey! Get out!" Ash ordered, hoisting himself up and putting his body between the girl and the Putty. The flunky babbled in his extraterrestrial tongue, and Ash darted his head around, picking up both feet and bumping away a swift blow meant to smash the girl, sending it back. Kneeling behind him were Yashid and his brother Rashid, holding one of the big ropes outstretched, and they promptly tripped the goon on its back.

"Thanks, guys," Ash said to them. "Perfect timing."

"Glad to put him down," Yashid said, slapping his smiling brother's shoulder.

"Yeah, but you all have to get out of here," Kanzaki interrupted, taking Colleen by the hand, who tried to pull away. "These weirdos move fast." Sure enough, the monstrosity was climbing to its feet, and two more were closing in. And that's when Eliza Peterson cried out.

Eliza had been helping parents get their children away, having them split off in paths. The last heavy trooper just recently came toe to toe with her. Before the Putty could give chase, Eliza grabbed one of the aluminum bats used for Dizzy Izzy and whacked it in the chest. She got a good jab to the face in as well, but when Eliza tried to flee, she was pulled back by her mauve sweater and kicked in the back. One more kick to the right arm and she now found herself at the Putty's mercy. The chief and Ash made a beeline for her, but it was too late.

"Kyai!" Black Ranger shouted as he flew through the air, buffeting the giant Putty back with a flying kick, though it never left its feet.

"You okay?" he asked Eliza, bringing her to her feet and inspecting her.

"Thanks to you," Eliza replied, holding her arm and buckling in pain. "Too bad I didn't bat a thousand with this lunk."

Ash stifled a chuckle upon seeing Brock, but he patted Eliza on the back and Brock said, "This arm doesn't look good."

"Neither does this, Brocko…" Ash grumbled. Rashid, Yashid, and Colleen had regrouped with them, and the opposition was closing in.

"Alpha, can you get Eliza to the hospital and the others to safety?" Black Ranger inquired on his Communicator.

"Teleporting now, Black Ranger!" the automaton answered, and with that, Kanzaki and the kids vanished in columns of white light. But that didn't stop Rita's Putties.

"Well…" Brock continued, seeing the towering toadies coming up to him and Ash. "How are we gonna get out of this one?"

"Just stand back and leave it to me," Ash said in a low voice. He drew his Power Morpher and raised it to the sky, and the Black Ranger just shook his head.


	12. Fever Pitch

"Dragon…" Hayashi whispered, popping open his Power Morpher. The crackling, mystical aura flowed from the device and his Power Coin, swallowing him up and covering him in his green protective suit, white boots and gloves, and his golden cuffs and chest shield. He peeked his head one of the tall brown bookcases, making sure nobody had walked into the dark section of the room, and he disappeared from the room in a beam of green light.

 _"Finally alone! I can take care of chrome dome myself!"_ the Green Ranger told himself as he left the fourth floor of the Feron Grove Library and rocketed downtown. He, his sister, Tracey, and Brock had gotten a call from Zordon saying Ash was in trouble at the athletic fields. Before the group could leave to help him, Alpha frantically told them that Scorpina was down all the way near the Kau Cove Hospital; not only that, but Goldar was starting to attack Feron Grove's central shopping plaza.

"That's it," Lia snarled, gathering the books they'd been reading into her backpack. "I'm getting rid of Scorpina once and for all."

"We'll take her together," Tracey said, checking the room, seeing the only other person at the far end going out the door. "A hospital's no place to go it alone."

Lia nudged Tracey to the side, letting out a sigh. "I don't need a babysitter," she protested. "Just let me do the work."

Tracey closed his eyes in annoyance, wishing he would've found the way to break Eye Guy's spell in the books they had been combing for hours. In seconds, the two teleported out of town, leaving Hayashi by himself.

"Let him go!"

"Drop your weapons!"

Goldar's fangs poked through his big, simianesque mouth, a drop of drool falling down on the back of the elderly man that knelt before him. Hanson and three other police officers surrounded them both, their pistols pointed at Rita's chief warrior, who had the point of his long sword pressed on the back of the shivering man's neck.

"Grandpa!" the small boy hiding behind one of the cops tearfully cried. He held the brand new football his grandfather had bought him close to his side.

Goldar's captive had his face firmly pressed upon the cement, but he was glad he couldn't see his grandson so frightened.

"Just run, Leon…" he managed to say.

"One more word out of you and I'll use that frizzy mop on his head to clean _you_ off of my sword!" Goldar roared at the man; the child shook and buried his face in the officer's waist.

A few seconds ticked away as everyone was motionless, everyone except the person that emerged from the green light from the sky.

"Take your problems up with me," Green Ranger yelled, drawing his Dragon Dagger and pointing it at Goldar.

Goldar sneered, pressing on the man's neck again. "Well, well, the traitor's back! Do you seriously care about this old prune? You broke the ribs of one just like him a few weeks ago!"

The officers glared at the demonic figure in front of them, doing a double take at the Ranger behind them. Green Ranger growled, his finger dancing on the grooved button below the hilt of his blade. He was about sixty yards away from Goldar, but he didn't move a muscle.

"Drop your weapon and I'll let him go. It'll be just you and me."

Hayashi took a deep breath and slowly knelt down, placing his Power Weapon by his side. Goldar chuckled, placing his clawed foot on his hostage's back, poking one claw just through his white vest. With a guttural, he lifted his jagged blade high in the air and dove it down into the cement right next to the man's face.

"I won't waste my energy on you," he said, soon pointing to the boy. "But if I see you or that little whelp again, it will be the last time." The beast pushed the human across the ground a little with his foot, and the elderly man immediately scrambled to his feet, gathering a running Leon in his arms.

"Get them out of here," Green Ranger told Hanson. The senior policeman nodded and waved one of his men to move the two civilians to safety. Another raised an eyebrow at him.

"You're real big, aren't you?" he posed as the unarmed Ranger started toward Goldar. Hayashi grinded his teeth hearing this.

"Marco, come on!" Hanson cut in. "We've got to check those shops!"

"After what he's done? How can you defend _him?_ " Marco protested, throwing his arm up.

Green Ranger heard Hanson trying to explain things, but he didn't care. He was now just a few feet away from the villain stepping in front of him. Just a foot, just a few inches, just an inch until his right fist rose into Goldar's midnight blue jaw and Goldar's palm slammed into his left temple.

"I'll come as soon as I can," Misty spoke into her Communicator. She threw her head back, gulping down some more water from her metal bottle, but her body still simmered with painful heat.

"Please do, Yellow Ranger," Zordon said. "And keep your wits about you. Rita and Dredwing are sure to be watching you somehow."

Misty gasped as a violent pulse shot through her as she cut the transmission. She rose from the bench she was sitting on and started again down the empty dirt road that led to the Riko neighborhood from the last night. A chill wind started blowing as soon as the girl got off the trolley, following her as she reached the area. Only a few people were out and about, all of them with straight-laced expressions or frowns. Misty slowly approached the square, her footfalls seeming heavier and heavier as she walked into the square and up to the shop she and the other Rangers fought in front of.

Walking into the establishment, only two people were inside—a young, thin lady wearing a black leather jacket and the shopkeeper, who jumped a little as the door opened and the little bell rung.

"Oh! Oh…" he sputtered, gripping the countertop; the woman stifled a laugh. "May I help you, miss?"

Misty ran her hand through her hair, her body burning just like its color, and noticed a stethoscope dangling from the lady's neck.

"I heard about all of the trouble here around here," Misty began. "About how the Power Rangers didn't catch the monster that's been biting people."

"Around everywhere, dear," April Collings said. "It's hard to catch something that doesn't stay around for long, even for the Power Rangers. But we're all going to get to the bottom of this eventually." The shop owner frowned, turning away from the two females.

Misty rubbed her bandaged wrist, which also pulsed with energy to try and counteract the venom.

"Well," she began. "Since you're a doctor, I've actually noticed some things, and I was wondering…"

The teenager froze. She clenched her teeth and tried to stay on her feet, but everything was now boiling over, leaving Misty gasping and letting out anguished groans on her hands and knees. The doctor and the man behind the counter went to her aid, but Misty shoved the man to the side and swiped wildly at Collings. The doctor swiftly stepped back, taking note of how pale the girl below her looked. Misty hissed, her face contorted and her bloodshot eyes with pallor. She closed them as another fiery rush filled her physical being, and something new entered her mind, something tinged with Dredwing's almost congenial laugh—a tall building under an increasingly cloudy sky.

At that moment, her internal vision took her inside the building, a hospital. She saw Lia and Tracey fully morphed, squaring off with Scorpina in a hallway. She could hear the demoness cackling as the Pink and Blue Rangers kept trying to back her up. The group inched ever so slowly across the floor until they came across the doorway of a darkened room, the blinds drawn. Scorpina gestured toward the room, and lights in the facility flickered, and a few patients lying asleep in their beds started twitching and breathing in. They spasms grew more feverish as the clouds stretched over Kau Cove, pointed teeth stretched from their gums, and their wild eyes snapped open, sensing all of the life around them, life that suddenly seemed delicious.

 **NEXT TIME ON POWER RANGERS**

With the Power Rangers once again separated, darkness falls literally and figuratively as many vampires rise with a thirst for blood. While the team tries to hold off the new threat in addition to Goldar and Scorpina, Rita and Eye Guy are hard at work putting the next phase of their plan to take back the Amalei Region and the world into action. But even as the Power Rangers do their best to stop the invasion and cure the infected humans, Misty discovers not only the extent of the mysterious Dredwing's interest in her, but his horrific final goal. Can our heroes band together and bring light to a seemingly hopeless situation? Find out next time on the _Mighty Morphin Power Rangers!_


End file.
